Legal Era hosted its mega flagship 12th Annual India Conclave & Awards 2023, an unprecedented gathering of legal expertise at Hotel Hyatt Regency, New Delhi. The Conclave saw more than 500+ professionals participate from 12+ countries and across cities in India. The who’s who participated and deliberated at the India Conclave 2023, uniting legal luminaries, advocates, and scholars on a global stage.

On day 2 of this international summit, 25th August 2023, Legal Era proudly hosted the Global Achievers Awards, 2023, “Recognizing Cross-Border (India Desk) Lawyers for their Legal Finesse, Innovation & Accomplishments.” Legal Era’s initiative to recognize the Cross Border India Desk Lawyers of the Year was much appreciated.

The celebration of excellence and achievements of global business lawyers in different segments began with a warm welcome to all the legal professionals from across the world who joined the event in person, all set for a transformative dialogue on the future of law and justice and more.

The Chief Guest for the day was Honourable Shri R. Venkatramani, Attorney General of India, whose address was stirring and inspiring. Honorable Shri R. Venkatramani spoke,

“When we get into new roles, we have an opportunity to shape those roles. That’s the beauty of human creativity. Are we playing the role purposefully? Yes, we are all a part of the cog in the wheel. But ask yourself, am I transforming the wheel also? As law students, we study lifting the corporate veil…we raise legal, ethical, and moral questions. Keep doing that. The study of law is never complete. Every day, we come across a new problem, and we find legal solutions to it. You want to be ruled by the law. You don’t want to be ruled by men and women. Let’s not be a mechanical cog in the wheel – let’s transform the wheel itself.”

In the context of the occasion of the Global Achievers Awards 2023, Honorable Shri R. Venkatramani spoke,

“One, I agreed to come here because it would be a contribution to the nobler aspects of the law…legal professionals and their accomplishments. We must continue to create platforms of engagement, platforms of exchange that make a real difference.

Two, whichever field of law we may be working and wherever we may be, there is something very fundamental. All of us value creativity and innovation. And that gives us a lot of comfort and solace. So, for creativity and innovation, liberty and freedom are fundamental. That makes our collective lives more meaningful. Hence, we need to create a space where creativity and freedom however small, and insignificant it is, will become important in a collective understanding.

And three, we have the equality claim – the right of every human being to equal access to all resources of life. We are in the 21st century. Law will always have to grapple with conflicting questions and scenarios. And we all must rise to these challenges.”,

Honourable Shri R. Venkatramani’s address closed with thundering applause, and his august presence elevated the awardees’ on-stage moments of pride. The felicitations took place with Honourable Shri R. Venkatramani, Attorney General of India, handing over the awards personally.

The awardees were the finest lawyers who led and assisted all the inbound and outbound legal work while working with Indian clients in Indian geographies. Distinguished jurists, renowned legal scholars, and influential legal practitioners from diverse jurisdictions cheered their colleagues.

Legal Era has always stood for Legal Education, Research, and Advocacy, duly empowering the legal community worldwide since 2009. In this stellar period of 13+ years, Legal Era has been working relentlessly on Creating Opportunities and empowering the legal community to stay ahead of the curve. The Legal Era Community has become a Mega Global Think Tank of Expert Professionals in Business and Law. It is a one-of-a-kind, global think tank of Senior Leaders & Lawyers. The think tank experts professionals are Judges, Retired government officers, Lawyers, CXOs, and Corporate Counsels who play leading roles in thought leadership and policy discussions.

With the launch of the Legal Era Foundation, Legal Era is working on two focus areas. One, Policy & Legislative Reforms. And two, legal aid. That means channelizing legal help through collaboration with global leaders, lawyers & organizations working towards offering free legal services. It is Legal Era’s consistent endeavour to stay true to the mission of being ‘The Industry’s Global Voice for Driving Law & Policy Change for Legislative Reforms.’

Aakriti Raizada, Founder of Legal Era, is driven by a commitment to creating opportunities and showcasing stellar global talent by recognizing India Desk Lawyers for their Legal Finesse Innovation and accomplishments, Treading Cross-Border Waters, and Galvanizing Asian markets. Conscious of the fast-growing need for inbound and outbound legal assistance in emerging markets, she is known for celebrating the significant role the lawyers play in placing India on the global map as a favoured nation for investments and galvanizing our economic growth.

Over cocktails and dinner, the attendees fostered cross-cultural exchanges and had collaborative discussions on pressing legal issues that transcend borders. As expected, the Legal Era Global Achievers Awards 2023 was a crucible for legal innovation, a platform for sharing best practices, and a catalyst for new connections among legal professionals worldwide.

Agile and impactful, Legal Era continues to leverage the power of networks and communities with an international presence in Singapore, South Africa, UAE, the UK, and the US. Legal Era has established the most effective and most credible specialist communities dedicated to working towards legal help, policy, legislative reforms, training, and development. The Communities are the Legal Era Women Lawyers Network (LWLN), the Legal Era Global Lawyers Network (GBLN), and the Legal Era Corporate Counsel Association (LCCA). On an ongoing basis, these Communities are the first to connect the global business & lawyer community on policy, law & regulatory issues.

Legal Era has set another benchmark for rewarding the Cross-Border (India Desk) Lawyers’ fraternity with global visibility and relationship-building opportunities unlike any other.

This platform, the next Edition of the Global Achievers Awards 2024, and the potential for exciting opportunities to make an impact are only set to prosper in the times to come.

Here’s the prestigious list of Legal Era Global Achievers Awards 2023 Awardees: 

CATEGORY	WINNER NAME
Cross Border Lawyer of the Year - Capital Market	Amit Singh, Linklaters
Cross Border Lawyer of the Year - TMT	Ashish Chugh, Baker McKenzie
Leadership Excellence awards for India Desk	Ashok Lalwani, Baker McKenzie
Cross Border Lawyer of the Year - Corporate Finance	Biswajit Chatterjee, Hogan Lovells
Cross Border Lawyer of the Year - Banking & Finance	Debopam Dutta, Trowers & Hamlins
Cross Border Lawyer of the Year - Dispute Resolution	Dr. Markus Burgstaller, Hogan Lovells
Cross Border Lawyer of the Year - Dispute Resolution	Gautam Bhattacharyya, Reed Smith
Cross Border Lawyer of the Year - Corporate & M&A	Jacky Scanlan-Dyas, Partner, Hogan Lovells
Cross Border Lawyer of the Year - Corporate & M&A	Jai Pathak, Gibson Dunn
Cross Border Lawyer of the Year - Capital Market	Jamie Benson, Duane Morris & Selvam
Cross Border Lawyer of the Year - Green Energy	Karthik Kumar, Orrick
Cross Border Lawyer of the Year - Investigations, Compliance & Ethics	Mini VandePol, Baker McKenzie
Star Women Lawyer of the Year - Leadership & Excellence	Nipun Gupta, Bird & Bird
Cross Border Lawyer of the Year - Dispute Resolution	Nish Shetty, Clifford Chance
Cross Border Lawyer of the Year - Immigrations	Pat Saini, Pennington
Cross Border Lawyer of the Year - Dispute Resolution	Philip D'Costa, Pennington
Cross Border Lawyer of the Year - International Trade	Philippe Reich, Baker McKenzie
Cross Border Lawyer of the Year - Infra & Energy	Priyank Srivastava, Duane Morris & Selvam
Cross Border Lawyer of the Year - Banking & Finance	Ranajoy Basu, McDermott Will & Emery
Cross Border Lawyer of the Year - Dispute Resolution	Sarosh Zaiwalla, Zaiwalla & Co
Cross Border Lawyer of the Year - Capital Market	Siddhartha Sivaramakrishnan, McDermott Will & Emery
Cross Border Lawyer of the Year - Corporate	Sivanesan Sivagnanaratnam, Dentons Rodyk & Davidson
Cross Border Lawyer of the Year - Mergers & Acquisitions	Stephanie Keen, Hogan Lovells
Cross Border Lawyer of the Year - Corporate	Taeko Suzuki, Nishimura & Asahi
Cross Border Lawyer of the Year - Technology	Ulrich Bäumer, Osborne Clarke

Amit is a New York and English qualified lawyer, specialising in debt and equity capital markets transactions in the Asia Pacific region. He has led on some of the most high-profile and complex debt and equity deals in the region, offering in-depth knowledge of the market, combined with the ability to develop innovative, commercially focused structures that best suit clients’ requirements."

Amit advises issuers and underwriters on the full range of debt and equity issues, including capital raisings, high yield issues, liability management, and masala and green bonds, as well as providing clients with general corporate advice associated with capital issues. He has acted on the substantial majority of market-leading debt capital markets transactions in recent years, as well as several prominent equity capital markets transactions.

Amit is widely recognized as a leading capital markets lawyer in South and Southeast Asia, particularly for his wide coverage of jurisdictions and products, in addition to having led on the market-first, innovative and award-winning transactions across Southeast Asia and the wider Asia Pacific region, including Indonesia, India, Philippines, Malaysia, Australia, Thailand, Sri Lanka, Vietnam and Fiji.

Ashish is a principal in the Dispute Resolution Practice Group in Singapore. He is qualified to practice law in England and Wales, India, New York and Singapore and is a fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators. Within Baker McKenzie, Ashish sits on the (i) Global International Arbitration Steering Committee, (ii) Global India Steering Committee, (iii) Global TMT Dispute Resolution Working Group and (iv) Joint Asia Offices Dispute Resolution Working Group on TMT and South Asia.

Ashish is acknowledged by Legal 500 Asia Pacific as a key practitioner in the area of international arbitration in Singapore.

Ashok Lalwani is the Head of the International Capital Markets practice in Asia Pacific and is the Chair of the Firm's India practice. Ashok focuses his practice on public and private international securities offerings and cross-border mergers and acquisitions, including the representation of non-US based companies in transactions involving US federal securities laws. His practice also includes the representation of issuers and underwriters in public and private securities offerings in the US and abroad. Additionally, Ashok has more than 20 years of experience handling Indian transactions – both inbound and outbound – for clients in various industries.

Debo has extensive experience in the area of Banking & Finance in the international as well as the Indian domestic markets. Having previously worked in India, Singapore, London and Tokyo, Debo leads the firm's India Desk. With in-depth knowledge of the Indian market and regulatory climate, he is able to advise clients on how to successfully implement their India-focused transactions.

He advises banks, financial institutions, agents, real estate investment trusts, sponsors, funds and multinational companies across the GCC, South Asia and South-East Asia spanning across a broad range of industries and asset classes on a wide range of domestic and cross-border transactions with particular focus on corporate finance, real estate finance, project & infrastructure finance, acquisition finance, trade finance, Islamic finance, debt capital markets & structured finance, debt restructuring and regulatory issues. In addition, Debo regularly assists clients with credit agreement compliance concerns, amendments, waivers and consents on financing documents, and routine regulatory compliance issues. Besides acting as lenders’ or investors’ counsel, Debo has substantial experience in representing borrowers and issuers. He is being increasingly sought out for his expertise in the space of ESG and green financing in the GCC and is a regular speaker at conferences and events in this area.

Dr. Markus Burgstaller has been a Partner in the International Arbitration Practice of Hogan Lovells in London since 2014. Prior to joining Hogan Lovells in 2007, he served as Legal Advisor in the Office of the Austrian Chancellor (Bundeskanzleramt) for more than four years. He combines experience in public international law and EU law at the highest level of Government with many years of experience in advising and representing States, international organizations and businesses in private practice.

Dr. Burgstaller acts for investors, States, and international organisations in international disputes, mainly arbitrations under the ICSID and UNCITRAL Arbitration Rules, and in proceedings before the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU). Markus was lead counsel for the Slovak Republic in the Achmea case before the CJEU in which the CJEU ruled that EU law precludes a provision in an international agreement concluded between EU Member States that provides for investor-State arbitration. For his work Markus received the Financial Times Innovative Lawyers award for innovation in legal expertise – dispute resolution, the award for "Most Important Decision" by Global Arbitration Review and was named "Lawyer of the Week" by The Times.

As the Singapore Managing Partner and co-head of the India practice at Hogan Lovells, Biswajit (Bis) Chatterjee is a top tier and highly reputed lawyer for corporate finance transactions focused on India, SE Asia, Asia Pac and the Middle East. With over 20 years of experience, he advises clients on equity and debt capital markets, corporate finance, M&A and PE transactions, as well as on compliance issues and investigations matters. Bis has a proven track record of delivering successful outcomes for his clients, having worked on more than 240 IPOs, equity and debt transactions and fundraisings with an aggregate value of more than US$65B. He also supports large conglomerates on their global growth and reorganization strategies, as well as on regulatory issues such as economic sanctions, government procurement, compliance and investigations, and corporate governance issues.

Bis is highly ranked by Chambers & Partners, IFLR 1000, Best Lawyers, Legal 500 and other legal directories. Chambers Global has consistently (2010 - 2023) ranked him a highly regarded lawyer and confirm client testimonials that include "very professional and extremely thorough" who is “solution oriented”, “extremely knowledgeable about India and Indian client requirements”, and a "tough negotiator" who offers clients "incredible personal attention". In 2022, Bis was named Leading Cross Border Lawyer of the Year (among 25 lawyers globally) at the 3rd Annual Global Achievers Awards by Legal Era, which identifies leading lawyers at global firms for their work on inbound and outbound India matters.

Gautam specializes in international commercial arbitration and litigation in a broad number of areas. He is a member of Reed Smith’s global board, its Executive Committee. He has been a partner in the firm since 2000 and is the former Managing Partner of Reed Smith’s Singapore office. Gautam is also chair of our India Business Team.

Gautam has extensive experience of acting in international arbitrations under the rules of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), UNCITRAL, the London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA), the Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC), the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID), the Arbitration Institute of the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce (SCC), the Swiss Chambers of Commerce, and other arbitration bodies. He has also conducted numerous litigations before the English courts, as well as cases involving the courts of many other jurisdictions. He was previously a visiting law lecturer at the University of Westminster.

Jacky Scanlan-Dyas is a partner in the Tokyo office of Hogan Lovells. She is the regional lead for Corporate in Japan, the co-lead for the global Manufacturing and Industrials Industry Group, and a member of the firm’s global M&A leadership committee. Jacky has over 25 years of crossborder transaction experience across the full range of structures, including M&A, investments, joint ventures, and complex commercial contracts. Jacky’s extensive international experience and results-orientated approach enable her to navigate cross-cultural issues that arise in multi-jurisdictional transactions. She knows how to get deals done, having advised numerous major Japanese corporates, funds, and trading houses on corporate transactions all around the globe—in particular India, South East Asia, Latin America, the U.S., and Europe—as well as many international investors from these regions on their investments and businesses in Japan. Jacky joined the Hogan Lovells London office in 2001 and, having lived in Japan for almost a third of her life, moved back to Tokyo to launch the Japan M&A transactions team in 2009. In 2023, her efforts leading the Japan M&A practice were recognized when Hogan Lovells became one of just a handful of international firms ranked Tier 1 for M&A in Japan by The Legal 500 Asia Pacific. Most recently, she was awarded “Woman Lawyer of the Year” at the 2023 Asian Legal Business Japan Law Awards

Jai S. Pathak is a partner of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP. Mr. Pathak has extensive experience in cross-border mergers and acquisitions, takeovers, dispositions, privatizations, joint ventures, licensing, infrastructure development, as well as private equity and structured finance transactions. His practice has included projects in the United States, Europe, India, Southeast Asia, Latin America, Canada, Australia and China. Chambers Asia-Pacific 2023 and Chambers Global 2023 ranked Mr. Pathak as a leading lawyer in Corporate/M&A for India (top tier Band 1) and Singapore. Chambers noted that Mr. Pathak is characterized by peers as “an excellent lawyer” with “many years of experience working in India” and “his reputation precedes him, and his hold on the Indian market is unsurpassed.”

He was presented the “National Law Day Award – 2001” by the Indian Council of Jurists for his unique contribution to the development of Indian corporate law. In addition, Mr. Pathak was recognized as an A-List lawyer on India Business Law Journal’s 2022-23 International A-List, featuring the top 100 “foreign lawyers most recommended by clients and peers for their work on the cross-border aspects of India-related matters.”

Mr. Pathak regularly speaks on legal developments and subjects relating to his practice area. He has sat on public company boards in India and Singapore, as an independent director. Mr. Pathak graduated from law school with a B.A. in Jurisprudence (Honors) in 1984 from the University of Oxford where he also earned a M.A. in 1989. He received his LL.M. from the University of Virginia in 1985. He previously earned his B.A. (Honors) and M.A. degrees from the University of Delhi (St. Stephen’s College) and Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India.

Jamie A. Benson is the head of Duane Morris & Selvam's U.S. Capital Markets, U.S. Venture Capital and India Practices. He has more than 25 years of experience and has advised on more than 100 securities offerings throughout the world with total proceeds of approximately US$25 billion. Having worked on more than 70 offerings by Indian issuers since 2004, Jamie is one of the leading international legal counsels advising on securities offerings by Indian issuers. He is currently based in Singapore and has previously worked in New York, Sydney and London.

Jamie's experience includes advising on: equity offerings (public offerings and private placements); high-yield, convertible and investment-grade bond offerings; debt private placements; SEC-registered equity and debt offerings; mergers and acquisitions of both U.S. and non-U.S. public companies; going private transactions; SEC reporting obligations; compliance with U.S. broker-dealer laws; general corporate and commercial law matters; and FCPA matters. Jamie has a wide range of industry experience, including working on deals involving companies in the following industries: aviation; banking; beer and wine; business process outsourcing; cable television; construction; electricity transmission and distribution; film production; gambling; healthcare, infrastructure; jewelry; insurance; mining; non-banking financial companies (NBFCs); oil and gas; print media; property; telecommunications; television broadcasting; and toll roads.

Karthik Kumar is an experienced project development, acquisition and finance lawyer who advises clients on novel and complex, high-profile renewable energy and infrastructure projects in the Asia-Pacific region. Karthik Kumar has over two decades of experience acting for investors, developers, lenders and sponsors on high-profile M&A, project development and infrastructure projects in the Asia Pacific region with a strong focus on India. He has particular expertise in the renewable energy sector, having acted on significant Indian transactions in the solar, wind and EV sectors in India.

He is highly regarded in the Indian market for his in-depth regulatory knowledge and significant transactional experience. Clients laud him for his commercial approach and deep regional background.

Mini vandePol is the Head of Baker McKenzie's Asia Pacific Investigations, Compliance & Ethics Group, after successfully completing three years as the Global Chair. Mini focuses on anti-bribery and corruption, trade sanctions, fraud and other senior executive misconduct investigations across Asia but most particularly in Hong Kong, China and India. Mini has more than 30 years' experience and is the trusted advisor to the boards and audit committees of the Firm's most significant global clients — assisting them to establish and enhance their risk management programs, assess risks in transactional opportunities and credibly investigate transgressions to support a strong commitment to a culture of compliance.

In her previous Global Chair role, she led a team of 900+ compliance and investigations practitioners in Asia Pacific, EMEA, Latin America and North America, which was ranked amongst the Top 10 global investigations firms by Global Investigations Review in 2016, 2017 and 2018. Mini herself has recently been awarded "Woman Lawyer of the Year" in The Macallan ALB Hong Kong Law Awards and "Best in White Collar Crime" Euromoney Asia Women in Business Law Awards in 2019. She is also named as one of the "Top 100 Women in Investigations" by Global Investigations Review.

As joint leader of our India Strategy Group, Nipun advises Bird & Bird on the firm’s international strategy for India. Her focus involves advising international clients on inbound and outbound mergers, acquisitions and disposals with a particular focus on emerging markets.

Since arriving at Bird & Bird, Nipun has been a key driver for India, including Indian related M&A and corporate finance and dispute resolution work. Currently, she is an independent director with Aricent Technologies and Rackspace India.

Before joining the team at Bird & Bird, Nipun was a partner at a US headquartered international law firm, where she was recognized by Chambers Global as 'a driving force behind the India practice'. Prior to that, she was Global Head of Legal at Ispat International which has since rebranded as Arcelor Mittal to become the world's largest steel manufacturing group.

In 2001, Nipun was recognised as one of the 'Hot 100' lawyers in the UK, and received the 2001 International Professional Award EFBWO. In 2006, she received the prestigious Law Day award from the Indian Prime Minister recognising her outstanding contributions in the field of law as a 'role model for women lawyers in India and abroad'.

Nish specializes in dispute resolution, with a particular focus on international arbitration, restructuring & insolvency and regulatory work. He regularly advises on complex cross-jurisdictional disputes including arbitrations and is widely recognized as a leader in the field of dispute resolution in the region.

Nish is on the panel of arbitrators of most of the key arbitral institutions in the world.

He is the founder and ex-chairman of the SIAC’s Users Council, the Co-Chair of the Council of Arbitration of MCIA and the first in Asia to be appointed as a Judge of Appeal on the FIA International Court of Appeal in Paris.

Pat heads the firm's immigration team and is co-head of the India group. She has over 20 years’ experience in her field. Her business clients include large multinational corporations as well as start-ups and scale-ups, while in the education sector she acts for universities, FE colleges, English language and independent schools. She is also highly-respected for her advice to Indian companies operating in the UK and internationally. She provides guidance on all aspects of immigration including sponsor compliance, Brexit related issues, business restructuring and risk management. Regularly liaising with senior Home Office officials on behalf of clients, where appropriate she challenges decisions to suspend or revoke sponsor licences.

Pat also provides immigration solutions to HNW individuals, including those applying for Tier 1 investor, entrepreneur and exceptional talent visas, and advises on all aspects of nationality and EU law. Leading the immigration team’s Government liaison services, she has been instrumental in bringing about immigration rule and guidance changes. Examples of her work include lobbying the Home Office on behalf of pathway providers which resulted in ‘sites and partnerships’ being recognised for education providers; leading the case for adding digital tech jobs to the shortage occupation list for Tech London Advocates; being part of the panel which helped redesign the Tier 1 Tech Nation visa; and lobbying the Government for a start-up visa. She is a frequent speaker at immigration conferences and provides training in the UK and overseas.

Phillip is a commercial disputes partner, head of the IT and IP disputes team and co-head of the India group at Penningtons Manches Cooper. He has over 20 years’ experience of complex, high value commercial litigation and arbitration, often with a cross-border element, and regularly advises on commercial, technology, financial services and civil fraud disputes, as well as enforcement and asset recovery.

Phillip has acted on a number of board and shareholder, banking and IT disputes and represents a range of private sector clients. He assists businesses and individuals with insolvency and regulatory compliance issues, and has a particular interest in contentious and transactional work involving India, having acted on several English law disputes involving Indian parties.

Philippe Reich is a partner of Baker McKenzie Switzerland based in Zurich. He serves as co-head of the Firm’s International Trade Practice Group in Switzerland, focusing on trade compliance, international trade & regulatory and foreign investments.

Philippe is a key member of the Firm's International Trade & Commerce and Antitrust & Competition Law Practice Groups. He is regularly ranked and recommended in the relevant international legal directories. In 2022, he was ranked among the top 100 foreign lawyers for India related matters.

Philippe is also the European representative on the steering committee of Baker McKenzie's Global India Practice, chairman of the Swiss-Indian Chamber of Commerce and forms the India Desk of Baker McKenzie in Switzerland.

Priyank Srivastava is a Director in the Corporate Energy practices with over 15 years’ experience advising in the energy, Project Development/Infrastructure/P3 sector and Disputes practice. Priyank co-heads the India Practice Group focuses his practice on upstream, midstream and downstream oil and gas/LNG matters and the power sector. Having worked for over eight years at India’s largest exploration and production company, he is familiar with all the transactional aspects of global energy projects.

Ranajoy Basu focuses his practice on structured finance with key experience in debt capital markets transactions. He has a broad range of experience in international capital markets advising a wide range of participants, including arrangers, originators, servicers and trustees, in connection with the securitization of a wide variety of assets in numerous jurisdictions, including emerging markets transactions.

Ranajoy has a particular focus on emerging markets transactions, and is recognized as an industry leader by both, Legal 500 and Chambers. He joins as the Head of the Firm’s India practice. He regularly advises on a broad range of capital markets and complex structured finance transactions including external foreign currency convertible bonds (FCCBs) and qualified institutional placements (QIPs) relating to India. He has advised banks on some of the largest corporate debt defaults and restructuring in India.

Sarosh Zaiwalla founded Zaiwalla & Co in 1982 and oversees all activities relating to the firm. Recognised by both Chambers & Partners and The Legal 500, he is a ‘hugely experienced litigator’ who has extensive experience acting for international clients in complex multi-jurisdictional cases.

Sarosh has been involved in over 1200 International Arbitrations and has acted for many prestigious clients including the President of India, China National Petroleum Corporation, Bank Mellat, NIDC of Iran and many other international private and public corporations.

He has twice been named by The Times as ‘Lawyer of the Week’, most recently in 2020 for his success for the Central Bank of Venezuela in a Court of Appeal case against the Bank of England in respect of its failure to comply with a request to return $1.8bn of Venezuela’s gold held at the Bank of England.

Siddhartha Sivaramakrishnan represents multinational companies and investors on cross-border business transactions, including M&A, investments, financings and regulatory and compliance matters. He also counsels on US and UK capital markets and public company matters. He has deep experience across APAC and EMEA advising corporations, shareholders and financial sponsors on effective legal and commercial solutions that propel success. Siddhartha has particular sector expertise in energy and renewables, healthcare and life sciences, financial services and technology and data protection.

Siddhartha is ranked as a leading lawyer in Singapore and India.

S Sivanesan is a senior partner and head of Dentons Rodyk's Corporate practice group. He is also Co-Head of the Environment, Natural Resources & Sustainability practice, Venture Tech & Emerging Growth Companies practice and the Singapore-India relationship partner. Sivanesan's primary areas of practice include mergers and acquisitions, corporate re-organizations and restructurings, venture capital, venture technology, investment funds and general corporate commercial matters. He has advised several fund managers, venture capital funds, founders, start-ups and companies on investment deals.

Sivanesan's international work includes cross-border and regional transactions, mergers and acquisitions, VC/PE investment deals in South East Asia, India, China, Japan, Europe, Australia and USA. He has worked with local and foreign clients in establishing businesses in Singapore and the region, transactional matters, foreign direct investment, liaising with regional counsel and establishing effective corporate structures for global operations. He is widely regarded as an authority on corporate governance and venture capital.

With the benefit of international experience, and vast regional knowledge, Stephanie knows how to get the job done. Adopting a direct and straightforward manner, Stephanie applies her no-nonsense approach while leading the Corporate & Finance practice in Asia Pacific. Stephanie has been based in Singapore since 2009.

Recognized as one of few leading private equity lawyers in Asia Pacific, Stephanie is praised by clients for being very good at looking at the bigger picture. She is particularly adept at closing international deals in complex Asian markets, adopting a focused approach whilst being alert to cultural nuances.

Taeko Suzuki, a partner at Nishimura & Asahi in the firm’s Tokyo office, is “the face of the India practice in Japan and is the most well-known Japanese lawyer in India,” says Abhishek Singh Baghel, an associate partner at DSK Legal.

He adds that, “[Suzuki’s] expertise on various Indian legal subjects and awareness about upcoming laws and regulations is praiseworthy”. Taeko heads the firm’s India practice, and advises Japanese corporations investing and doing business in India, with a special focus on dispute resolution (litigation and arbitration), and regulatory work (criminal and competition related matters). She also handles jurisdictions such as Sri Lanka, Pakistan, the UAE, Bangladesh, Nepal, Maldives, and other countries in South Asia, the Middle East and Africa.

Ulrich Bäumer is a partner in the digital business and technology group of Osborne Clarke in Cologne. He advises the clients of the firm mainly in the areas information technology and (offshore) outsourcing and complex licensing issues (inter alia ERP, XaaS, Cloud, etc) in addition to all other IT related matters.

He drafts and negotiates complex international IT projects (especially outsourcing and licensing), contracts, and assists the technology clients of the firm in M&A transactions. He also advises in all other aspects of technology, data protection and licensing law. Ulrich has successfully worked on and finalised 400 + global IT projects in the last 22 years.